BREWER, Maine — City leaders on Monday authorized the sale of a foreclosed house that was the site of more than 150 police calls over the past two years.
The city council order also authorized “a potential settlement” with the former owner of the troublesome property at 91 Longmeadow Drive that was taken by the city for unpaid taxes.
The deal seems to have quelled the concerns of Candice White, who stopped paying property taxes on the home in 2013, leading city officials to foreclose after repeated warnings.
White has previously said that she worried the home would be sold for around $25,000, just enough to cover the $19,000 she owes in back taxes plus lawyer fees, and leaving her with nothing. Attempts to reach White on Tuesday failed.
The house is valued at more than $230,000. White blamed hardships and health problems for leading to her unpaid bills.
At one point, she also moved out of the house, and admitted in a letter to Brewer officials that she let her daughters and their friends “destroy our neighborhood and our home.”
The city documented 155 visits by law enforcement to the home for a variety of complaints from neighbors over the last two years while the daughters lived there.
But city officials said it was the lack of tax payments since 2013 that eventually led to the foreclosure.
During Monday’s meeting, the council also put in place a 180-day moratorium on new retail marijuana establishments and retail marijuana social clubs, as well as any planned expansion at current medical marijuana facilities.
The moratorium is in response to the November referendum on the legalization of recreational marijuana use in Maine for those age 21 or older. No group has officially applied to open a retail pot shop or to expand the sole medical marijuana clinic located in Brewer, Mayor Bev Uhlenhake said after the meeting.
Bangor, which already has several downtown businesses that distribute medical marijuana and a medical marijuana social club, also is working on new regulations.
Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia allow residents to buy and use marijuana. Maine, and at least eight other states, could join the list after the November election, if voters endorse Question 1.
Brewer’s moratorium will give city officials time to review the wording of the proposed Marijuana Legalization Act, which if passed at referendum would authorize municipalities to regulate the number, location and operation of retail marijuana facilities, and work on how to incorporate it into the city’s land use ordinances, the mayor said.